


The Selection: Sander Side Style

by IOnlyEatComfortFood



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Deceit is now Delcan, M/M, Sympathetic Remus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 07:33:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20811395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IOnlyEatComfortFood/pseuds/IOnlyEatComfortFood
Summary: Roman had always wanted to be royalty. So when the opportunity to participate in the Selection, a competition to become the prince's husband arose, he gladly took it. But the Prince Logan is callous and distant. Can Roman see past all that to the human underneath? Or will he be going home before he has a chance to say hello?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first fic on Ao3! I mostly do my writing on Tumblr, then will transfer it over here (this being a case of that). So have fun with this!  
Tumblr- ionlyeatcomfortfood  
Warnings: Homophobia, Remus/The Duke  


Roman had always wanted to be a prince.

I mean, it was in his name, for goodness sake. Roman Prince. He should be some sort of royalty, a baron or a count. But alas, he had been born a peasant, a Five at that. There was no way he would ever be anywhere near the palace.

At least he had been born a Five, the artists. He couldn’t imagine being a Three, the businessmen (in his opinion, the most boring of the castes). Or a Seven, the manual laborers. Or, he shuddered at the thought, an Eight. The ‘Untouchables’. The lowest of the low. He wouldn’t even be able to get a job without scrutiny.

But just because he wasn’t an Eight didn’t mean he was particularly happy that he was a Five. Sure, he was an artist by nature and loved singing with his mother and playing his violin, but he would have loved to be a Two. The celebrities. The stellar athletes, actors, and everything in between. A bunch of Twos had met the royal family. If only he were one of them.

And, to seal the deal, Roman had a tiny humongous crush on Prince Logan. He just was so pretty! His hair, such a dark black, his eyes as dark green as a forest, his lean stature, his face, his-

Nope, nope. We don’t need to add that many thirsty thoughts at the beginning of this story.

But his crush was in vain. The only way a person could become a part of the royal family if not born into it was the Selection. The Selection was a competition between thirty-five girls to compete for the prince’s hand in marriage. The problem was, last time he checked, Roman was most definitely not a girl. And the Selection was meant for straight people, and Roman was definitely not straight. Not that anybody knew that, of course. It’s not illegal to be gay, but most people frowned upon it.

So, yes. Roman Prince would never, be a prince.

Until the Report announced Prince Logan’s Selection.

xxxxx

The announcement aired right after Roman and his mother had gotten back on a really well paying job. They had killed it, his mother’s mastery of the piano and his skills on the violin had gotten them a standing ovation. They were riding on that high when they came in the door, laughing and singing.

“Be quiet! The royal family is speaking of Prince Logan’s Selection!” Roman’s father hissed.

“What does it matter to us, Carlos? We have two boys, not girls.” His mother responded.

“Just listen!”

Remus, Roman’s twin brother, turned up the volume.

“-and now, the royal family, everyone!” the announcer, Chadrin Jackson, yells. Cheers can be heard throughout the neighborhood. The Prince family is quiet.

King Gabriel and his wife and winner of his Selection, Queen Brenna, stand next to the microphone, Prince Logan slightly behind them.

“Greetings, citizens of Illea,” The king started. “My son, Prince Logan, has had his eighteenth birthday. It is now time for his Selection.” 

More cheers were heard. The Prince family remained silent.

“However, this Selection will be a bit unorthodox. You see, my son is gay.”

Everyone gasped. Even Remus, and he literally can’t be startled. 

Roman glanced at the corner of the corner of the screen, where Prince Logan could be seen. His face was as impassive as ever. Seriously. Did that guy ever smile? 

If Roman had been outed like that, he would have been shocked. He would have yelled at his father for doing that to him, making him so vulnerable in public. Wait, he thought, they’re the royal family. They must have talked about this beforehand. This is a calculated move.

The king continued, despite the shocked faces of everyone on screen. “So, to accommodate for this, the contestants for this particular Selection will be male, not -”

Before the king could even finish his sentence, Remus turned the TV off.

“Remus, why did you turn it off?” Roman turned to his brother.

“Look at Mom, she’s fuming.” Remus pointed to where their mother was standing, gripping the back of the couch so hard that her knuckles were white.

“Lyssa? What’s the matter, darling?”

And at that simple question, Lyssa Prince exploded.

“How dare they! Support that kind of behavior! If I were queen, I would have all those monsters locked up!” Lyssa paced angrily as she yelled

“Mom, what are you talking about?” Remus asked, quietly. This kind of attitude was very unorthodox coming from Lyssa. She normally kept her opinions to herself.

“The homosexual lifestyle! They choose to parade it around instead of trying to get him fixed? Disgusting.”

Every word Lyssa yelled put a dagger in his heart. Because Lyssa never said anything bad about being gay (until now), he’d always thought she was one of the people who was supportive. He knew now of course, his assumption was wrong.

He looked around to see Remus and Carlos’ reactions. But both were impassive. Neither gave anything away from their expressions.

“Mom, you can’t possibly mean that,” Roman was hoping, praying that this was all some joke that he was not in on.

But, alas, this was not the case.

“Of course I mean it. And just so both of you are aware,” Lyssa pointed her finger at Roman and Remus “Neither of you are allowed to enter this Selection. If you do, and I find out, you will no longer be a member of this household. You understand me?”

Remus nodded, silently. Seriously, if this is what it took to get Remus to shut up, Lyssa should yell more often.

That was one last dagger to his heart, because Roman knew that he would not listen to his mother. There was no way he was giving up this perfect opportunity. His giant small crush on the prince might actually lead to something now. He was signing up for that Selection, and maybe, just maybe, he might be chosen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan gets ready for the Selection. And a pretty face catches his eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad everyone liked this! Here's chapter 2, and chapter three is on it's way.  
Tumblr- ionlyeatcomfortfood  
Warnings: Uncomfortable father-son relationship.

Logan really didn’t want to have a Selection.

But his father had insisted. He wasn’t too happy when Logan came out a couple months before. His mother was supportive, but his father was a bit upset. He questioned what this would do to the Selection. And his father was even more upset when he responded to this with “Well, we don’t have to have a Selection. I don’t particularly want to have one, anyway.”

Their compromise? Changing the Selection contestants to men. Neither of them were completely satisfied with it, but it would have to do.

Logan just… wasn’t the best with people. He was generally pretty blunt and callous. He didn’t really have the best communication skills. Most people found him boring. Logan also found it really hard to empathise with others. Emotions weren’t what he understood.

So the thought of adding thirty-five new people suddenly was nerve inducing, regardless of gender. Plus, at the end he had to choose one to be his husband. His life partner. Who he would rule with. And compared to the total population of Illea, this was just a small sampling. What if he didn’t like any of the boys chosen? What if he chose the wrong one? What if-

No. He needed to stop this train of thought. Thinking this way is unproductive. Maybe Virgil’s rubbing off on him a little more than he thought.

Speaking of his little brother, Virgil quietly started walking beside Logan as he approached his father’s meeting room. They didn’t say anything until they reached the door, then Virgil asked “Are you okay?”

Logan was a bit taken aback. “Of course I’m alright. What made the indication that I was feeling inadequate?”

Virgil shrugged. “I don’t know. I know I would be freaking out if Father made me do this. I just assumed-”

“You jumped to a conclusion.” Logan turned to his younger brother. “A conclusion that is incredibly false. I am not you, Virgil.”

“Well, yeah, I know that, but-“

“Prince Logan!” One of his father’s advisors, Charles, came out of the room, beckoning him in. “Come. Your father is ready for you.”

Virgil just frowned when Logan followed Charles into the meeting room.

xxxxx

“Your Highness?” Gabriel looked up from some of the papers he had been staring intently at. Charles shifted uncomfortably under the king’s gaze. “Your son has arrived.”

“Hello Father,” Logan greeted stiffly. Honestly, if it weren’t for Logan’s mother, the only time Logan and his father would talk would be in meetings like this. Meetings about the country and how to properly run it. Gabriel sure had a lot to say about running the country.

“Hello son. You are here to pick some of your Selection members. I have already chosen some for you that I believe would be a great match for you,” Of course. Gabriel had already stuck his thumb in this, and Logan had barely said anything yet. This was going to be fun.

“Keep in mind: Yes, you want them to be a good fit for you and your personality, but you also want to think about what they have to offer the country. Are they smart? Are they calculating? Are they charismatic? What do they have to offer us?”

“Yes Father,” Logan started to investigate the piles of applications in front of him.

He picked some that seemed like they would work. He dismissed others. A couple candidates, like Patton Foster, a Four, seemed like a good option. Patton seemed nice enough, with a soft, gentle face and a genuine smile. 

Virgil would like that one, Logan thought to himself. Besides, Patton seemed quite capable. He was a great worker who loved his job and was incredibly generous with his time.

As he kept sifting through the pile, one boy’s application caught his eye. Roman Prince, a Five. He was a musician and an actor, which would make him charismatic. He got really good grades in school which would make him intelligent.

But the thing that caught Logan’s attention was his eyes. Yes, Roman was an overall a very fairly attractive man, his eyes were otherworldly. They were a beautiful honey brown, deep and full of humor that Logan wanted to figure out. They were so lovely. How could someone’s eyes be this pretty?

“Prince Logan?” Charles shook Logan’s shoulder. “You’ve been staring at that paper for a couple minutes now.”

He shook his head. “I apologize. I just thought this boy is a very plausible candidate.”

“Alright. Let me know if you need anything.” Charles squeezed his shoulder before going back over to Gabriel’s desk.

Logan took one more look at Roman’s paper.

Roman Prince huh? Guess I’ll have to keep a close lookout for you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman did it. He put his name in. But when's he's chosen, how will his family react?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter three. Enjoy!  
Tumblr- ionlyeatcomfortfood  
Warnings- Homophobia, getting kicked out, sympathetic Remus, cursing

He had done it. Roman had done it. He turned in an application against his mother’s wishes. Holy shit.

He had never done anything like this before. Remus was the bad boy, the one who didn’t follow the rules. Roman was a golden boy. He always did what his parents said, ‘cause parents know best. At least that’s what he thought.

But when his mom exploded, Roman just knew he couldn’t listen to her anymore. If she was going to so vehemently deny who Roman was, even if she didn’t know it, how could Roman listen?

So he had done what he wanted for once. He wanted to be apart of the Selection, so he applied. It had been about a week since he had sent in an application, and tonight was the night they would announce the Selection contestants. Roman was equally parts excited and scared. But he was ready.

Or so he thought.

He had to beg his mom to watch it. Lyssa did not want anything to do with the broadcast, but a glance at Roman’s puppy eyes did the trick. They sat down on the couch to watch the king announce the Selection contestants.

“We have Patton Foster, Four. Delcan Rose, Two.”

Come on, come on.

“Emile Picani, Three. Remy Zephyr, Four.”

Come on. Please.

“Roman Prince, Five.”

The king continued down the list of names, but no one in the Prince household was listening. The television wasn’t turned off, it just sorta became background noise.

“You put in an application. After I specifically told you not to?” Lyssa was silently fuming. Remus and Carlos were waiting behind her, quiet.

“Yes.”

“Why? You’d have to be crazy! Or… no,” Lyssa shook her head. “No, no, no. Y-you can’t be a…”

“A homosexual, Mom? Is that the word you’re looking for? Yes, Mom.” Roman spat the words out. He wouldn’t have been able to get them out of his head otherwise.

Lyssa was quiet for a moment for she said “Get out.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Get out of my house, you monster! Get out!” Lyssa screamed.

Roman knew she was going to react harshly, but he hadn’t been expecting this. He just thought she would give him the silent treatment until it was time for him to go to the palace. He didn’t expect her to kick him out.

“Mom, please-”

“You’re no son of mine! I did not raise my kid to be a homosexual! SO GET OUT!”

Roman turned to his father and brother. His father’s face was impassive, but Remus was actually a little sympathetic. “Dad.”

“You heard your mother,” Carlos’s voice was ice cold. “Out.”

“Rem. Please.”

Remus looked at his parents, fire and ice, and walked over to Roman. Roman sighed.

“I’m not leaving you, Roman.”

“What? Remus, you can’t be thinking about going with this imbecile!” Lyssa said.

“Mom. I can do what I want. Besides, if you must know, I also put my name in the drawing, because I am a raging homosexual.” Remus didn’t even bat an eye when Lyssa went fucking ballistic.

“You as well! What went wrong? What is going on?”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have places to be,” Remus said, dragging Roman out the door. “Oh, and if you did love us, at some point, would please direct any palace officials to the Redwood’s household?” 

And with that, Remus slammed the door, leaving a dumbfounded pair left in the Prince household, TV still blaring.

xxxxx

The next couple days were insane for Roman. Their parents had done what Remus had requested and directed palace officials to the Redwood’s house. Remus was an old friend of the eldest Redwood, Maxon, so the Redwoods welcomed them in and congratulated Roman on his success.

Tailors came and measured him for suits, manner coaches talked to him about where he was, manner was (quite adept), and just plain government workers who explained how this would all work a million times over.

They would arrive at the palace, along with thirty-four other guys, in which the prince would pick and choose guys he liked and go on dates with them. At a certain point, the prince picks his Elite, ten guys that have the best shot of being the prince’s spouse (they always used ‘spouse’, not husband). Then from there, the prince chooses who he will marry.

They had also mentioned how his family would get paid every week he was still in the Selection, which he had made a few inquires about.

“So, this family is not my birth family,” Roman said while the tailor maneuvered around him.

The official that was there that day, Ms. Potts, glanced up from the magazine she was reading. “Are you adopted?”

“No. But my parents kicked me out when I was announced a winner, so I was wondering if the money could come to this family?”

“No can do, sir,” Potts said. “Only the families of the contestants can receive the money.”

“What about my brother?” Roman asked.

Potts looked over to where Remus was chasing around the younger kids and sighed. “How old is he?”

“He’s my twin, and we turn 18 in three months.” Roman said as the tailor finished his measurements.

Potts thought for a moment, before saying “We could probably transfer the funds to him. We would just need to get your written consent that you’re okay with that.”

Roman nodded. “Of course.”

“Well, with that out of the way, we should get going. Come along Bartholomew,” Potts said to the tailor. He packed up his supplies and they were off.

“So, is that all the fancy prep you have for today?” Remus asked, the younger Redwood children, Ravyon and Celie, hanging off his legs.

“Yeah. Until tomorrow, that is.”

“So, do you think we could go visit the children?” Remus smiled.

Roman nodded. ‘The children’ Remus were referring to were the kids down in the orphanage. It was the one thing the twins had always done together. They would visit the orphanage and tell stories, play with the kids, and help deal with temper tantrums and nasty diapers. They hadn’t gone in some while, especially since Remus had his accident.

“I’d love to.” Roman said, and with that, the two left the Redwoods with a goodbye and a promise to bring back some bread.

xxxxx

When they entered the orphanage, they were greeted by a flurry of young children crowding them. Every child was shouting, and it was really quite a sight.

“Roman! Do you have another story?”

“Remus! Look what I drew!”

“You’re back!”

“Woah, everybody, take a breather,” Roman said, hugging all the kids that were holding onto him. “I know you guys are excited, but we’re only two people, and there are twenty of you.”

“Twenty-one now,” One of the older kids, Lace, said. “There’s a new kid, but they don’t wanna come out of there room.”

“Oh. Well in that case, I’ll go talk to them, see if I can get them to join us. Remus, would you mind telling these rascals a fairy tale?” Roman asked, already slipping away from the crowd.

“My pleasure. Say, how many of you have heard the story of Cinderella?”

Roman walked down the hallway to see a door closed. He knew from previous visits that the door was usually open because there was no child to occupy it. The new kid must be in there.

Roman knocked on the door and waited till he heard a small little ‘come in’ before entering.

“Hello, little one. What’s your name?” Roman asked the small child curled up on the edge of their bed.

“I’m Mo,” The little one whispered, curling more into themselves.

“Hey, your okay. There’s no reason to be nervous.” Roman crouched next to Mo and smiled. “So, are you a little prince or princess?”

“I’m neither,” Mo said.

“Alright, then you are tiny but mighty royalty!” Roman exclaimed, striking a dramatic pose. Just as he intended, he got a little giggle out of the child.

“Would you like to hear a story, Mo?” Mo nodded. “Alrighty. Have you heard of the Princess and the Dragon?”  
Mo shook their head. “Well, here it goes.”

Roman recounted the story, waving his hands around, making different voices for all the characters, and just being his normal goofy self. Mo was laughing, gasping, and yelling, and it made Roman’s heart warm. From just one story, he had gotten this shy child to laugh. He was good at this, and it made him proud to be him.

“So, did you like that story?” Roman asked as he wrapped up the tale.

Mo nodded excitedly. “Can you tell me another one?”

Roman glanced at the time. “I’m sorry, but me and my brother have to get going.” 

“Oh. Can you come next week?”

“Again, no. I’m going to be at the castle.”

Mo’s eyes widened. “The castle? What for?”

“I’m part of the Selection.”

Mo’s eyes got even wider. “Really?”

“Mhmm.”

“Woah, that’s so cool!” 

“I know.”

“Hey!” Mo jumped up from the bed to grab a sheet of paper. “How about when your in the castle, you write me letters!” Mo wrote the address of the orphanage on the sheet of paper and handed it to Roman. “Please?”

“Of course, tiny but mighty royalty!” Roman smiled, giving the kid a quick hug before going to find his brother.

xxxxx

The last few days before he left for the palace rushed by Roman, leaving him breathless. He could barely keep up with everything that was happening. And before he knew it, it was the day he had been waiting for. The day they traveled to the palace.

Ms. Potts was back to escort Roman to the car, since there was already a hoard of press waiting outside to bombard him with questions. He had said all his goodbyes except for one: Remus.

Roman stood before his brother. Remus, despite all his buffoonery, was a good person underneath. He was just a little misguided. He placed a hand on Remus’s shoulder.

“Okay. I had them direct the money the families get weekly to you. But do not blow it on yourself. Give some to the Redwoods, since they’re going to be hosting you for awhile.”

Remus shrugged off Roman’s hand. “I know. I was already planning on it.”

“Remus. Seriously. Be smart about this.”

“Geez, Dad, I already told you I would. Okay? I’m okay now.”

Roman looked at his twin. They were so different, but they were still brothers. And Roman still loved him.

Roman pulled Remus into a hug. “Thank you for leaving with me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

“You’d probably be wandering on the streets.” Remus joked. “But in all seriousness, I wouldn’t have stayed with those witches anyway. I would gladly do it again.”

The brothers hugged, then it was time for Roman to be off.

“Farewell, all. I shall see you in another life.”

“You’re leaving for a couple months. We’ll see you soon enough.” Remus said, and it was the last thing Roman heard before he was whisked away.

xxxxx

Roman got situated on the plane, when a voice joined his thoughts.

“Hello! I’m Patton! It’s nice to meet you!” A blonde boy was sitting next to him, freckles adorning his face and a permanent smile on his face.

“I’m Roman Prince. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Prince? Well that’s no fair, you already have an advantage!” Patton joked.

“Well, you must use every advantage you have, my dear Patton.” Roman joked back.

“I can tell we are going to be royal friends.” Patton smiled.

Roman smiled back. Maybe there was more to look forward to than just the prince in the Selection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be posting the fairy tale Roman told Mo shortly.


	4. The Princess and the Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of a princess, a knight, and a dragon, but not the story you know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this isn't a chapter. This is the story Roman told Mo in the previous chapter. I hope you guys like it. Sorry if it's bad, it's my first time writing a fairy tale.

In every fairy tale you have every heard of, the night saves the beautiful princess from an evil dragon that has captures her.

Not in this tale.

You see, while the dragon did capture the princess, everything beyond that is not something of your typical fairy tale.

The princess, lovely and fair, is not helpless, by any means. She manages to escape several times from the dragon, although it does always find her. She says the same thing every time the dragon recaptures her.

“I will escape again!”

And the dragon always sighs and says “I’m sure you will.”

This cycle goes on for a month, till it becomes more playful. The princess escapes, but only to hide in a larger version of hide-and-seek. The dragon always finds her, but they do not sigh anymore. 

The princess still says “I will escape again!”, but without any fierceness behind it. And the dragon still says “I’m sure you will.”, but they speak with more endearment then exasperation.

Days later, the knight in shining armor comes to rescue the princess.

Problem is, she does not wish to leave.

The knight spends hours trying to convince her to leave, but her response is always the same:

“No.”

“Your betrothed is waiting, fair lady!”

“No.”

“Your mother and father are very worried about you, princess!”

“No.”

Finally, the knight decided that the princess must be being controlled by the dragon, for what other reason would she not leave its grasp?

The princess was being controlled, but not by the dragon. No, she was being controlled by a force much greater.

Love.

The knight fought against the dragon, and stabbed through the dragon’s heart. What surprised the knight was that the princess ran towards the injured dragon, instead of towards him, thanking him for setting her free from the dragon’s tricks.

The princess wept over the dragon. Her agony chilled even the warmest of hearts.

Finally, the princess said through her tears “I will find you again.”

“I’m sure you will,” the dragon whispered, before their eyes closed.

In that instance, the princess and dragon’s love for each did something truly magical.

It made the dead live again.

The dragon flew into a ball of light, being transformed before the princess’s eyes.

Down from the light came an elder, wise and humble. The princess cried again, but from joy this time.

When the princess regained her composure, she sent the knight away, shaming him for not listening to her and hurting a harmless elder.

When the princess returned to her kingdom, elder in tow, the entire kingdom celebrated the vanquishing of the dragon.

Nobody knew, except for the princess and the elder.

They ruled together for years, the princess now a queen and the elder her advisor, and they brought prosperity and peace to the land.

So not every fairy tale needs an evil dragon. But almost all of them have a happy ending.


End file.
